TUI flight to Cyprus declares mid-air emergency after take-off from UK

Passengers on board aTUI flight from the UK to Cyprus were diverted after an emergency was declared on board due to a "bird strike".

The Boeing 737, flight number TOM 6754 , was bound for Paphos, in Cyprus, when the incident occurred at 4.30pm on Sunday as the plane took off from Cardiff and the plane had to be rerouted to Birmingham for it to land. Operations also had to be suspended at Birmingham Airport while emergency services met the aircraft upon its arrival.

Flight maps show that the plane circled Swansea Bay at approximately 3,000ft before climbing up to 12,000ft and heading towards the West Midlands to land.

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Passengers and crew were safely disembarked after the aircraft burned fuel circling before landing at 5.30pm.

The plane was met on the runway by four fire appliances and other emergency vehicles, causing the delays at Birmingham before it was able to taxi to a stand.

A TUI spokesperson has now confirmed that the incident was caused by birds close to Cardiff Airport when the plane was taking off and the diversion was carried out as a precaution.

They reportedly said: "To confirm, there was no engine failure. There was a bird strike after take-off and the diversion that followed was a precautionary routine procedure."

While a spokesperson for Cardiff Airport also confirmed the diversion stating: "We are aware of an incident involving flight TOM6754 from Cardiff to Paphos. The safety of our passengers is our number one priority. The aircraft diverted to Birmingham Airport (BHX) and landed safely at approximately 17:30."

Last monthsall flights were put on hold for several hours at Birmingham Airport following an 'incident with a light aircraft' on the runway that left one person injured.

A number of planes were diverted from the West Midlands airport on August 5 while others were delayed significantly. At 2.48pm, Birmingham Airport's official Twitter account announced that its runway was closed. Two hours later, security and check-in was closed, as was the runway.

A picture from the scene showed a white light-aircraft on a runway surrounded by emergency vehicles. West Midlands Police said one person had suffered minor injuries after a small aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport. The force said: “We are at Birmingham Airport this afternoon after a small aircraft was involved in an emergency landing at around 1.40pm."

The Mirror has contacted TUI for comment.